Queenstown

Family-friendly Activities

Start with a scenic cruise, crossing Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak High Country Farm. Explore the decks, visit the steam room, or chat with the captain in the wheelhouse. You’ll find a licensed cafe on board. Disembark at Walter Peak and join the host for a farmyard tour. Get up close to sheep, deer, and highland cattle. Help feed the farm animals, watch a farm demonstration, and explore the lakeside gardens. Enjoy a morning or afternoon tea including scones, muffins, coffee, and tea. The Walter Peak Farm tour is the perfect way to get a taste of New Zealand's farming lifestyle in an interactive way. This 3.5-hour tour is suitable for all ages.

Join the TSS Earnslaw for a 1.5-hour cruise across Lake Wakatipu. Admire spectacular alpine scenery and enjoy plenty of time to explore a piece of living history. Listen to engaging commentary from your experienced captain who will highlight points of interest throughout your cruise. Make your way to Steamer Wharf at Queenstown’s waterfront. Climb aboard the oldest working coal-fired passenger steamship in the southern hemisphere and feel free to explore! View the collection of historical photos in the small onboard museum and check out the skipper’s wheelhouse. Visit the engine room to feel the heat of the giant steam engines at work and see the stokers shovel coal into the glowing fireboxes.  Soak in the dramatic mountain views surrounding Lake Wakatipu and relax at the cafe where you can enjoy a wine or beer and snacks are also available for purchase. 

Discover Queenstown’s untouched and pristine wilderness during an authentic jet boat adventure across Lake Wakatipu and along the historic Kawarau River. Choose from a 25-minute or 1-hour experience and spend more time on the water with a convenient departure right from the heart of Queenstown. Depart from Thunder Bay next to Steamer Wharf in the heart of Queenstown and travel far up the Kawarau River, covering a distance of 47 km. Along the way, listen to interesting commentary from your experienced driver. After getting equipped with a life jacket and spray jacket, climb on board and experience exhilarating 360-degree spins, skimming the water at speeds of up to 95 km/hour.  Then, travel down the river where it is calmest, even when the lake is rough. Take your camera along to capture the stunning scenery of your jet boat experience with frequent photo opportunities.

Take the stairs down under Lake Wakatipu and travel back to the beginning of time. Time Tripper is a 14-minute state-of-the-art animated show that takes you back 90 million years ago to what Queenstown was like all those years ago. Your time-travel pilot will guide you through the time of the dinosaurs, taking you back to when New Zealand was formed and flying you deep into the earth to when the Southern Alps were created. Ending in present-day Queenstown, you'll then experience activities all from the comfort of your seat. Following your informative session, you'll enjoy 10-15 minutes of underwater viewing during which you can see the famous diving ducks, slinky eels, and trout that lie beneath. This approximately 30-minute activity is Queenstown’s only underwater experience, blasting off every half hour from the Main Town Pier.

Feel the thrill of soaring over the Tutoko Glacier on flight between Queenstown and Milford Sound. Explore the beauty of Fiordland National Park on a catamaran tour and see glacier-carved fjords and a magnificent beech forest. Enjoy complimentary tea or coffee on your trip.  Take a scenic flight over the mountains and valleys of South Island, and appreciate the beauty of the dramatic landscape between Queenstown and Milford Sound. Enjoy bird's eye views of the Southern Lakes, Tutoko Glacier, and Milford Fiord. If you have time after the flight, walk through the bush to the boat docks with your pilot and learn about the native environment. Climb aboard the Spirit of Milford catamaran, and explore the legendary body of water for 2 hours. Marvel at the flora and fauna, and get up close to native wildlife, including rare Fiordland crested penguins in the Spring and Fall. Appreciate the grandeur of the cliffs rising hundreds of meters from the water. Get within touching distance of impressive geological features, and feel the full force of the powerful Stirling Falls. Join the skipper on the bridge for a bird's-eye view, and to discover how the boat operates.

See, move and feel the dimensions of virtual reality in a completely immersive and realistic way while your body becomes the controller and your mind believes it’s real. Hologate VR lets you live the adventure. Find yourself in the middle of a massive snowball fight, competing on a challenging rhythm and beat battle, or trying to survive a zombie attack together with your friends. There’s something for everyone with this state-of-the-art VR technology that allows you to play together or even against your team.

Enjoy a thrilling game of Laser Tag on a 360° Battleground that has been professionally and strategically designed to give you the most intense experience possible during your game at Thrillzone, located in the center of Queenstown  Experience design features from traditional speedball arenas in order to simulate the superior adrenaline rush of close-quarters combat. Forget wasting your time by tracking down and stalking your targets, wired headbands, and vests, plastic guns, and sci-fi sounds-  the arena throws you right in the action. Take advantage of the indoor arena that is not affected by the weather, so you can play anytime. There are several game modes you can try out and the 360° Battleground is multi-functional.

Enjoy a challenging next-level combination of scavenger hunt, escape room, and augmented reality on this adventure around beautiful Queenstown. In this outdoor game you will play puzzles and crack codes. Experience augmented reality and geolocation technology, without the confines of a physical room. Work together as a team and solve the mystery before time runs out. Challenges and tasks await you along the way.